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Ana Ivanovic wins first French Open title
2008-06-07
This time Ana Ivanovic was ready for the French Open final. Showing no sign of the nerves that afflicted her a year ago, Ivanovic won her first Grand Slam title Saturday by beating Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-3. By reaching the final, Ivanovic had already assured herself of being ranked No. 1 for the first time next week. And the Serb's performance was No. 1-caliber against Safina. "I'm just so happy I kept my composure until the end," Ivanovic said during the trophy ceremony. "Last year's final was a great learning experience." A shaky Ivanovic played in her first major at Roland Garros in 2007 and won only three games from Justine Henin. But against Safina she was as cool as the 65-degree weather, showing hardly a bead of perspiration even as she sprinted from corner to corner retrieving shots. The 20-year-old Ivanovic slugged winners from both sides, feasted on Safina's sometimes shaky serve and scurried to extend points, which led to plenty of entertaining rallies. Ivanovic won most of them, including one frantic exchange that she finished off with a delicate drop shot and ferocious fist pump. Ivanovic won match point with a backhand up the line, then dropped her racket, collapsed into a crouch and covered her face. After blowing kisses to the crowd, she used a chair to climb into the stands and share hugs with family and friends. "I tried to call them to help me to come up, but they were hugging each other," Ivanovic said with a laugh. "I was like, 'Hey, what about me?' ... "I feel so happy. I have no words to describe that. Winning a Grand Slam is something I dreamed since I was a little kid, so achieving that goal is very thrilling." Henin, a four-time French Open champion who retired last month while ranked No. 1, watched the final from the front row and presented Ivanovic with the trophy. Ivanovic said she noticed Henin before the match. "Seeing her today in the crowd, it made me feel really, really good," Ivanovic said. "I thought, 'Maybe I can be like her -- I can win a title.'" For the third consecutive year Sunday, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will meet in the men's final. The top-ranked Federer will again try for the only Grand Slam title to elude him, and Nadal will attempt to become the first player since Bjorn Borg in 1981 to win a fourth consecutive French Open title. Nadal reached the final by beating Novak Djokovic, who became Serbia's first Grand Slam champion in January when he won the Australian Open. Ivanovic said she thought of Djokovic's title as she took the court to face Safina. "I said, 'Come on. He could do it, I could do it, too,'" she said. "It's something that for sure motivates." Ivanovic's worst moment came serving at 4-3 in the first set, when she squandered a 40-love lead by losing the next five points. She quickly regrouped and won five of the next six games to take command. First-time Grand Slam finalist Safina fended off a match point in consecutive rounds this week, rallying each time after she lost the first set and trailed 5-2 in the second. But the Russian ran out of comebacks. "I tried, but I didn't have any more of that fire that I had those matches," Safina said. "I was just tired mentally and physically. My heart and my body couldn't do it anymore." Safina needed 20 points to hold for 3-4 in the second set, and the grueling game left her spent. From 15-all in the next game, Ivanovic swept the last seven points. Seeded 13th, Safina was trying to join her brother, two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin, in winning a major title. They're the first sister and brother to reach a Grand Slam final. Safin was in London preparing for the grass-court season and didn't attend the final. "Somehow I thought he might come," Safina said with a smile, "but he didn't." The final was the third in the past five major tournaments for Ivanovic. She was runner-up at this year's Australian Open to Maria Sharapova, who will be supplanted in the No. 1 ranking next week by Ivanovic.
Williams sisters both win on `Graveyard' (2008-06-30)Sunny start at Wimbledon for Roger, Serena (2008-06-23)Ana Ivanovic wins first French Open title (2008-06-07)Federer reaches 16th straight Grand Slam semifinal (2008-06-04)Kuznetsova, Kanepi advance in French Open (2008-06-03)
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